I need help coming up with a costume for a pre-existing alien (no inventing my own).

Stipulations:

-No full face masks
-No major body paint. A mark here or there is fine. Full face or arm make up is out.
-I want to be cute! (no coneheads! I do not look good as a cone head.)
-It need to be able to find an action figure/figurine/plush of the alien
-It needs to have something recognizable (ex: chick from Species doesn't really work, because she looked "normal")
-Not TOO complicated (I don't have much free time right now. I am capable of sewing/modifying things, though)
-Not too bulky. I'll be outside in the summer heat.

It can be from books, movies, tv, comic books, ads, whatever. It can be a little obscure, super geeky, very mainstream.

I'm not allowed to be Slave Leia. My dream would be Audrey II, but I don't have the time or creativity to figure out how to make that work well, and I don't want to have a crummy costume.

B.O.B. Blue shimmery cloth draped over an umbrella, strapped to your back, and put on blue gloves and long sleeved shirt to be arms.posted by tilde at 8:40 AM on April 6, 2010

A simple (if boring imho) option fitting your stipulations would be Teal'c or another Jaffa from the Stargate franchise. It's basically just a forehead tattoo.posted by Iteki at 8:41 AM on April 6, 2010 [1 favorite]

Or is the "no full face mask" less a comfort and more an event requirement?

Otherwise I'd go with some paint and be Jadzia Dax in a jumpsuit, spots, and a pony tail.posted by tilde at 8:43 AM on April 6, 2010

@tilde It's a comfort thing (and I "I rub my face unconsciously all the time" thing). Dax is exactly the type of suggestion I'm looking for.posted by duckierose at 8:49 AM on April 6, 2010

Trill is the easy one, Vulcan is slightly harder (Ears are usually available at Party City, I get them for Elf Ears all the time for gaming).

A fob watch and a sharp suit, and you could be a Time Lord from Doctor Who.

Martial Arts outfit, and you could be someone from Dragonball Z, some of which I believe are aliens (although I am not verifying that one while in the office...)posted by GJSchaller at 9:21 AM on April 6, 2010

My dream would be Audrey II, but I don't have the time or creativity to figure out how to make that work well

Dress as the first Audrey, wear one of these on your hand.posted by K.P. at 9:28 AM on April 6, 2010

I had a plaster life cast I made of my face as a form, but you can use a firm plastic mask (google search term: blank plastic mask) - get a few in case you break one I'd consider putting clay inside the mask to give it more structure and to cover the eye holes.
Make ridges and apply to the bridge of the nose. To do this, you just make very small double tapered snakes, flatten them slightly and put on, shaping like a photo from DS9.

Make a clay dam around the nose that is slightly higher than the highest part of the makeup (say, by about 1/4-1/2").
Spray with Pam, and brush to coat.
Fill the dam with plaster and let it set.
Tear away the clay dam and carefully remove the mold. It may stick, but it should come free with some wrenching/prying.
Paint on a thin coat of latex in the mold going wider than the ridge. Blow dry with a hair dryer to set faster. Repeat 4 times or so, not going out quite as far. Your goal is to make the ridge thick, feathering out.
Pull it out of the mold and dust lightly with baby powder so it won't stick to itself. You can make several to play with.

To apply, coat the back with spirit gum (I just used more latex), using latex to help blend the edges in. Apply makeup to your whole face to blend in -- if you're not comfortable doing this, just match your skin tone as best as you can. Some makeups do not stick to latex - try a few first - you can spread out some latex on a piece of waxed paper or foil to use as a test patch.

For accessories, I went to a bead shop and made an earring with lots of dangly chains and ear cuffs.

There are a lot of steps, but honestly, this is not hard. I tried to spell it out so that you wouldn't have any surprises. It took me maybe an hour to make the positive on the form, an hour to make the mold (including cleanup), a half hour to an hour to make the prosthetic, and a half hour to apply it. Cost is on the order of $30, depending on what quantity you get the materials.posted by plinth at 11:57 AM on April 6, 2010

stitch from lilo and stitch. just wear blue, buy a set of small antennae, and cut a chunk out of a set of readymade "elephant" costume ears to match the chunk cut out of his. add a readymade koala nose, and you're totally set. everyone will want to snuggle you, which can be good/bad.posted by neitheror at 1:01 PM on April 6, 2010

My wife made a fun simple Marvin the Martian costume one year. All you need a is an Ok helemet, some green paint, the broom part of a push broom (for the top thing) and some green foam or something similar for the Helmet's details.

Add a red t-shirt, green skirt, Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator and some chuck taylors and you're in business.posted by phelixshu at 4:06 PM on April 6, 2010

I'm seconding LeeLoo. You want to be cute, and comfortable in hot weather.
You need: White t-shirt, gold pants, orange suspenders, boots, orange hair. For reference, here's a picture of a girl's costume. Suspenders would be the hardest part, but It's totally doable.posted by shesaysgo at 4:30 PM on April 6, 2010

If you don't want to do LeeLoo, you could do Leela from Futurama. Cut a big white eye out of a plastic lid or something and wear it like a mask over your eyes (pinholes to see through). Can do a bracer with cardboard and tinfoil, and then it's just boots, leggings and a vest.posted by Iteki at 11:03 AM on April 7, 2010

Haruko from the FLCL anime? Kind of bulky for summer, but it's easy to find Haruko plush dolls, is (tomboyishly) cute, and not terribly complicated. You could probably leave out the scarf and the white longsleeve undershirt and wear thin black tights instead of leather to help deal with the heat.posted by millions of peaches at 11:04 PM on April 7, 2010

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